| After HDH
left Motown, their first record reached hit status but was not a
number one record. "While You're Out Looking For Sugar" by the
Honey Cone charted well and as we say in the industry was "a record"
(one that made substantial money) but not a "number 1" . Less
than two years later, Honey Cone would provide HDH with their first
post-Motown gold record, "(Gonna Put It In The) Want Ads." |
| I was
in charge of mastering for HDH and personally
made sure the records always had maximum impact. The records
that I mastered always sounded a bit louder than the competition's
releases and I was an expert at this craft. "Want Ads" was
something like the 26th gold record that I mastered.
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|
The follow-up to Want Ads was a tune
called "Stick Up." When I got the master tape to work on, I
said to myself, "Oh this needs help." It didn't have the
gimmicky story that "Want Ads" had and it really sounded like one of
those follow-up records that's only a mild hit. We all know
about movie sequels being disappointing - well here was one of those
hit record sequels - equally disappointing.
|
|
I decided that there was something I
could do to help. It it didn't have brilliant writing or
performance, it had good production and I could give it extra-great
mastering. It had the typical HDH track that could get you to
dance If it had a really "hot" sound. Just like the earlier
HDH Smokey Robinson hit of "Mickey's Monkey," the lyrics didn't have
to say much if the track made you move! If I made it loud
enough, people would move. |
|
I would normally take a half-hour to
forty minutes to master a tune. With "Stick Up" I took 8
hours. When I was done it sounded
fully
twice as loud as
any released record. When I was done there were 50
splices in the master tape where I had re-recorded and spliced in
one drum hit, that allowed me to raise the overall level slightly.
When I was done it sounded like a hit record. When it was
released, it sold two million copies (a platinum record), matching
or exceeding the results of "Want Ads." |
|
During this period, I spent some time
in my evenings in a counseling office at my church. Someone
down the hall always had the radio on and tuned to a top 40 station.
The sound drifted into my office at a volume where you could tell
what tune was playing only if you strained your ears a bit.
But when "Stick Up" was played, you could clearly hear the tune.
The mastering job I did on "Stick Up" is the mastering job I am most
proud of. |
|
Learn Bob's mastering secrets at the
November 2001 Alexander Magazine Issue. |
